


keep a tender distance

by thisissirius



Series: Married Verse [3]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 07:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisissirius/pseuds/thisissirius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Patrick is too tired to deal with his shit. He wants to sleep and pretend that today is a bad fucking dream, but he’s been working on being a better husband or whatever the fuck his mom tells him is a great foundation for marriage.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	keep a tender distance

**Author's Note:**

> an anon on tumblr asked for kaner's injury in married verse. this wasn't what i orginally wanted to write, but i like it. 
> 
> thank you to mar for looking it over for me. you're always the greatest, sweetheart <3
> 
> title, as always, from marry me a little.

“You’re insane,” Patrick snaps, wrenching his shoulder. Biting back on an audible noise of pain, he settles back onto the pillows. He’s pissed off, disappointed and Jonny’s supposed to make it better, not stand in the doorway to their bedroom, being a complete and utter moron. 

Jonny scowls, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m being serious.”

Patrick is too tired to deal with his shit. He wants to sleep and pretend that today is a bad fucking dream, but he’s been working on being a better husband or whatever the fuck his mom tells him is a great foundation for marriage. They’ve been married almost two years, though only half that where both of them were sure it was actual marriage and not a sham, but the point is, he’s trying to be better and Jonny’s being impossible. 

Hovering awkwardly in the doorway, Jonny is still defensive, but at least he has the decency to look worried. “Are you okay?”

Cracking open one eye, Patrick gives him a look. “Are you fucking serious right now?”

“Fuck you,” Jonny snaps. “I’m worried about you, you asshole.”

“Stop.” Patrick knows it’s not as simple as that, and he really needs to cool his tone unless they want his mom yelling at them from the spare room. “I’m not going to let you throw the playoffs away.”

Jonny looks frustrated, the way he does when he wants to say a hundred things and can’t figure out how to put them into actual words. “I wouldn’t be doing that.”

Patrick sighs. “You want to stay here with me instead of flying out with the rest of our teammates? Then what? You keep missing games because I’m injured, what else would that be?”

“Missing a couple of games because my husband is _injured_.” Jonny’s voice catches on the last, and Patrick knows what it must have looked like; what he _felt_ like when he was being taken from the ice, but fuck everything, Jonny knows better than this. 

Letting out a breath, Patrick tapped Jonny’s side of the bed. Looking apprehensive, but less defensive, Jonny crossed the room and carefully climbed into bed beside him. “I appreciate that you’re worried about me, babe.”

Jonny nods, curling an arm around Patrick’s shoulders, mindful of his collarbone. No position is going to be comfortable, but Patrick can handle it for a moment, especially with the way Jonny’s face relaxes a fraction. 

“You gotta understand that this is our _job_. It’s always been hard, you know that, but our marriage was never supposed to come between this.”

The opposite in fact, considering its birth, and that’s what he needs Jonny to remember. Patrick’s always going to be worried when it’s the other way around, but they’re hockey players too, and Jonny’s the captain. 

Jonny kisses Patrick’s temple. “The guys would understand.”

He sounds stubborn, but he’s backing down, Patrick can tell. They know each other well enough by now. “They would,” he agrees. “That doesn’t make it okay. You’re the captain and they need you. _I_ need you to play.”

There’s silence, and Patrick knows that he’s won, even if he doesn’t feel as great about it as he once might have. He loves Jonny and it hurts knowing what it’s doing to Jonny to have to leave. Patrick’s hurting, but the team is bigger than whatever they might want; Patrick would never let Jonny sacrifice anything to stay with him, but especially not hockey. 

“I love you,” Patrick says, when the silence stretches too long. “I’ll be fine. I have my mom.”

Jonny snorts, ruffling the hairs on Patrick’s head. “I don’t doubt Donna’s comforting skills.”

Patrick smiles, turning a little until the pull on his collarbone gets too much. “I’ll be okay.”

He’s repeating himself, he knows, but Jonny’s smiling now at least. He nudges Patrick’s nose with his own, catches Patrick’s lips in a kiss. “You better.”

Jonny steals a couple more kisses before they shift further down the bed, Jonny pausing only long enough to make sure Patrick’s comfortable, before curling around him as best as Patrick’s injury will allow. It’s frustrating, not being able to touch Jonny everywhere he wants to, but it’s enough when Jonny kisses him again, slow and sure. 

“I love you too, you know,” Jonny says, when Patrick’s on the edge of sleep.

Patrick doesn’t reply, but smile. Yeah, he knows.

**Author's Note:**

> that's all she wrote!
> 
> if you wanna hang out on twitter (thisissirius) or tumblr (brandonpirris), i would love to chat :D


End file.
